Chocolate Orange Shortbread (Vegan)

Whats your favourite thing about the festive season? For some, it’s family and for others its the fact they’ll just be getting a break from work. My personal reasons for enjoying the festive season include crisp winter mornings, being cozy with a hot water bottle, endless fairy lights and most importantly, the food.

However one of the greatest things about Christmas is the generosity of people at this time of year. People become grateful for what they have and compassionate for those who don’t have as much. Two years ago I ran a festive themed bake sale at a local church here in Canterbury and this recipe has come from someone who kindly donated a bake. After trying one of these biscuits and it being so popular at the event I knew I had to find the recipe. It has now been a feature of Christmas, every year since and now I am sharing it with you.

I have now veganised this recipe to suit my dietary requirements, but feel free to use regular butter. If using a dairy-free butter ensure it is the best quality you can afford, I find flora freedom works best for the buttery flavour. You don’t have to decorate with dark chocolate, but it doesn’t bring out the flavour of the orange better. Cut into any festive themed shapes you have, just alter the cooking times if they are smaller/larger.

Ingredients:

115g dairy-free butter, softened (such as flora freedom spread)

55g caster sugar

170g plain flour

Zest of 2 oranges

75g melted dark chocolate (ensure it contains no dairy to keep it vegan)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180oc and line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper